Ostend

Did You Know?

• The James Ensor museum is located in the house where the artist lived from 1917 until 1949.
• Mu.Zee displays works of local painters such as James Ensor, Leon Spilliaert, Constant Permeke, and the COBRA movement.
• The comic Le Bal du rat mort, about a rat invasion, is set in Ostend.

History

In the Early Middle Ages, Ostend was a small village built on the east-end of an island called Testerep, between the North Sea and a beach lake. It became a town around 1265 when inhabitants were allowed to hold a market and build a market hall. Fishing was the main source of income. In 1395, due to the unstable coastline, residents built a new Ostend behind large dikes further from the sea. The town's strategic position led to frequent conquest and destruction. The Siege of Ostend from 1601 to 1604, part of the Eighty Years' War, resulted in over 80,000 dead or wounded and was the bloodiest battle of that war, prompting negotiations for a truce. After the truce broke down, Ostend became a Dunkirker base. In 1722, the Dutch closed the Westerschelde, increasing Ostend's importance as an alternative sea exit. Emperor Charles VI granted the town a trade monopoly with Africa and the East Indies, leading to the Ostend Company, which was dissolved in 1727 under Dutch and British pressure. A Jewish community was noted in the 16th century. On 19 September 1826, a local artillery magazine explosion killed at least 20 and injured 200, leveling the d'Hargras quarter and damaging nearly every building, with disease causing further deaths.

Sights

Ostend is known for its seaside esplanade, Royal Galleries, pier, and fine-sand beaches. Day-trippers often head to the Klein Strand near the pier, while locals use the larger Groot Strand. The Atlantic Wall Open Air Museum in Raversijde preserves a section of the fortified Atlantic Wall. The Vissersplein, a car-free zone with brasseries, hosts music festivals in summer. Notable sites include the Casino, Fort Napoleon, the Oostende railway station, the sailing ship Mercator, Hippodrome Wellington, Residentie Royal Ascot, Ernest Feysplein, St Petrus and St Paulus Church in Neo Gothic style, a King Leopold II statue, and the Synagoge Oostende.

Transport

Ostend–Bruges International Airport, 5 km from the city, primarily handles freight but offers passenger flights to Southern Europe and Turkey. TUI fly Belgium has its headquarters in Ostend, and TAAG Angola Airlines has offices at the airport. The railway station is a major hub with InterCity services to Brugge, Gent-Sint-Pieters, Brussels South, and Liège-Guillemins on line 50A. The Coast Tram connects Ostend to De Panne and Knokke-Heist. Former ferry routes to Dover and Ramsgate ended with TransEuropa Ferries' failure in 2013.